humble beginnings.

this is zaavan's tray for his wheelchair. as you can see, it has two pictures taped on it. on the left is "no." on the right is "yes." this is the beginnings of teaching him cause and effect and choice making and the little things that we take for granted that go into communication with one another. when a choice is presented to him, he is supposed to use "eye gaze", meaning that he is to look at the choice he is making and then make eye contact with the person who is giving the choice. and it is from this setup that i offer you a story.

last thursday night, i walked into zaavan's room around 2am to check on him while he was sleeping. i found him quite awake. he greeted me with a smile as per usual. then i relfexively asked him what was to me a rhetorical question. (rhetorical in the sense that i was not expecting a response) i asked, "do you have a wet diaper that you need changed?" as soon as i asked this, he flicked his head to the right and looked me in the eye. it took me a second. then i realized he was answering my question. he had turned his head to the side of "yes" and looked at me. to reinforce this choice making process, we give him his choice immediately so that he can learn cause and effect. so, trusting his answer and asking no more, i checked. the diaper was loaded with wetness.

i took it off and before i put on the new diaper, i was going to give him a wipe with a wet one to freshen him up a little. but then i stopped. would i want a cold wet cloth on my privates when i had been all warm and snug under the covers not but a minute ago? so i asked, "zaavan, do you want me to wipe you off?" he turned his head to the right (i was standing on his right) but he screwed his face up, furrowed his brow and grunted. i took this as a "no", but i wanted to reinforce the system we have been going with. so i asked, "zaavan, do you want me to wipe you off? yes or no." this time he flicked his head to the left. so i did not.

"do you want me to stay for a little bit?" he flicked his head to the right. so, instead of leaving right away, i rubbed his chest softly and hummed for a bit. he fell back asleep within minutes. and it was then that i determined i would take his speech therapy upon myself. to go with him to the sessions and help communicate the progress to everyone else. and i thought this would make a special "father and son" time that we don't really have as pertains his therapies. AND i do know that communication is not only a passion of mine, but a gift. and i thought i would start putting this gift to good use for my son.

pray for growth in this area. i am quite sure one of the most frustating things for him must be being trapped inside of a body that he cannot control and needing to communicate and interact with the world around him, but being unsure of how to do this and many times unable to do this most effectively. pray that he would be able to do this more and more, and that we would be given ears to hear him when he does "speak".